An anonymous individual has come forward to share a courageous personal account of living with sickle cell trait at the age of 28.
In a statement sent to Postsubman, the young man revealed that he experienced a dark period in his life where he contemplated ending it all.
He expressed, "I'm a 28-year-old living with sickle cell in Lagos. Before my dad passed away, he abandoned me, and my mother, who was my source of strength, passed away a few years ago."
He further shared, "Surprisingly, I noticed that my health improved when I started heavily smoking. The reduced number of crises and less pain made me turn to weed, as I read that it can help alleviate pain."
Growing up, he never expected to live beyond the age of 24 due to his cousin's unfortunate demise at the same age due to the same condition.
After extensive research, he lost hope in life. The financial strain on his family prevented him from pursuing a university education, as he did not want to burden his mother with additional expenses.
He confessed, "I've always despised myself and how I caused distress to everyone with my crises. My childhood was devoid of much joy, and I was mentally prepared to die at the age of 24."
Attempting to follow his passion for music production, he faced failure due to the lack of necessary investments. He then explored various other avenues capable of generating income, but the fear of triggering painful episodes limited his ability to overexert himself.
He explained, "There are limits to what I can do, and the loss of my sickle cell niece at the age of 15 served as a wake-up call. Yahoo (online fraud) did not favor me, and I cannot engage in rituals or consult traditional healers."
Recently, he decided to quit smoking, but his health has deteriorated since then, making it evident that smoking was providing some relief for him.
Despite his confidence, he faces challenges in his love life as he believes that one cannot love someone if they cannot love themselves. The responsibility of being a parent, which was believed to reduce crises, has only exacerbated his situation with increased responsibilities.
Struggling to make ends meet, he made the decision to quit smoking and turn his life around. However, he can sense his body weakening, and he anticipates the arrival of painful crises. Previous illness forced him to exhaust all his resources for medical treatment, leaving him sick once again this week.
Feeling lost and without direction, he finds it difficult to focus on online tech courses. He refrains from seeking support from his siblings, understanding that life is already challenging for them. He does not want to rely on handouts or experience pity, as it would undermine the little confidence he possesses.
Financial constraints prevent him from undergoing blood transfusions, and painkillers worsen his ulcer while medications for ulcers do not provide effective relief.
His statement “I’m a 28-year-old living with sickle cell in Lagos. Before my dad died, he abandoned me, and my mom, who was my strength, passed away a few years ago.”
“Since then, I’ve become heavily addicted to smoking. Surprisingly, I noticed that my health improved when I started smoking heavily, with fewer crises and less pain. I read that weed can help reduce pain, so I turned to it.”
“Growing up, I never thought I would live to see 28 because I had a cousin with the same situation, and she died at 24 years old.”
“After much research, I gave up on life. I considered it wickedness to go to the university because we’re poor, and I can’t put my mom through extra expenses because my existence is already a huge expense.”
“I’ve always hated myself and how I stressed everyone with my crises. I didn’t have much fun as a kid, and I was basically prepared to die at 24 years old.”
“I decided to go into music production because I love music and it has less stress, but it was a total failure because music business without investment is like fetching water with a basket.”
“I’ve had different passions that are capable of making money, and passion without hard work is useless. However, I can’t overwork myself because it’s another crisis. It’s like my reward for trying to work hard is unbearable pain nonstop for weeks.”
“There’s a limit to what I can do, and losing my sickle cell niece at 15 years old was a reality check. Yahoo (online fraud) didn’t favor me, and I can’t do what other boys are doing. I can’t go to “Baba lawo” (traditional healers) or do rituals.”
“Over a week ago, I decided to quit smoking, and my body is showing worse signs now. It’s now 100% clear that smoking was saving me.”
“I hate smoking; it gives me good feelings, but it also messes up my productivity. I don’t have many friends, I don’t go out, and I don’t have a girlfriend, even though getting a woman is extremely easy for me (I’m pretty confident).”
“My love life is a mess because apparently, you can’t love someone if you can’t love yourself. I don’t know what to do. They said having a kid would reduce the crises, and I did. Well, that has worsened my situation with too much responsibility.”
“I find it hard to make ends meet, which was what motivated me to stop smoking and fix up my life. But I can feel my body failing, getting weaker, and I know for sure that the crises are coming. I felt sick last week, spent all I have for hospital treatment, and this week, I’m sick again.”
“I have no idea what to do. I can’t get myself to focus on online tech courses. I can’t disturb my siblings because life is already hard for them. I don’t beg; I hate feeling pitied, and handouts will only destroy the little confidence I have in myself.”
“I don’t do blood transfusions because I can’t afford them. Using painkillers worsens my ulcer, and the painkillers for ulcer patients are not effective.”
“I don’t want to go back to smoking, and I don’t want to leave my child how my father left me. This cold weather is like poison to me, and I can see myself giving up soon.”
“My mental health is zero, and bills can’t pay themselves. I earn little change through digital marketing, but it’s only enough for food and medication. I can’t even afford the proper medication.”
“People in my situation, please, how did you do it? How did you overcome this terrible curse called sickle cell? I never prepared myself to live this long. I never thought it was possible.”
“I don’t want to go back to smoking. It was hard to quit, and I don’t miss it. What do I do?”